Repainted William
Henry James Shaw Ventriloquist Figure
One of the early Ventriloquist figure Makers
in the US was Shaw. He was a mannequin maker and did window displays
but he also made vent figures.
I am happy to share with you this very rare wooden figure made by
Shaw sometime around the turn of the 20th century. This figure is
typical of his work in that it has leather for the mouth and the
hands are the stylized carved fingers.
This figure stands 36" tall and has his original wooden body. The
head has been painted and the wig was also replaced but I decided to
leave him as you see him. It is very possible that he may have been
a black figure when he was first made because Shaw did many black
figures but I am just not sure. Then again if you look at the color
of the winker, which appears to be original paint it is not black.
His winker and mouth are controlled by ring pulls.
A nice example of Shaw's work.
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